


Beneath the Skin / Infectious

by mysteriousgemstone (orphan_account)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Broken Bones, Depressed Lance (Voltron), Drowning, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt Lance (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Lance (Voltron) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Lance (Voltron) Whump, M/M, Trapped
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:54:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23507209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/mysteriousgemstone
Summary: Lance was... hurting. Every time he’d try to speak out he was silenced. But when needing to be understood actually became a matter of life or death on a mission someone finally heard him.Keith just hoped that it wasn’t too late.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 340





	Beneath the Skin / Infectious

  
“I’m just saying... we need a break. I... _I_ really need a break. Please.” said Lance.

Shiro frowned. Lance always played up a lazy, carefree attitude but he hoped that for once he sounded serious to Shiro.

”I know, Lance. And I’m sorry. But the galra don’t, _Zarkon_ doesn’t, take breaks. We need to keep going.”

Lance wasn’t entirely sure that Zarkon didn’t take breaks but he understood where Shiro was coming from. They were so close to freeing an entire planet from galra occupation. When everyone first began working together as a team Shiro couldn’t say no to a friend in pain. And Lance _was_ in pain. Beyond the bruises and aches his mind was lagging behind his eyes and ears.

But these were different times. Lance knew that Shiro was just doing his best.

Lance kept dropping little hints and suggestions pointing to taking time off but everyone kept saying the same things.

He tried one more time before they embarked on their last planned planet-side mission.

”I’m really not at the top of my game, guys. If I don’t sit this one out I could put you in danger” he insisted. At least everyone seemed sympathetic so he might have still had a chance.

”We can’t _make_ you participate but I strongly urge you to. As paladins you must be ready for anything. And I trust you” said Allura.

Lance gave her a forced smile and they were off.

Staving off dizziness and bad memories that every jab from a robot sentry wrought was doable enough at first, but eventually Lance became separated from Keith and Pidge. They were right next to him one second and gone the next. He was facing this alone.

It wouldn’t be the first time.

Lance was cornered against a large pipe, his shield taking blast after blast from three sentry’s guns. Already fatigued Lance was desperate for backup.

”Pidge, Keith, where are you guys? I’m getting creamed- I could use a hand!” Lance called through the comms in his helmet.

”Where are _you_? We aren’t exactly having having a tea party over here!” Keith spoke over sounds of blasts and clashing.

”I’m- I don’t know- I’m cornered in some boiler room or something- WOAH!”

Lance just barely dodged three shots.

Later he’d wonder if he would have had a better time recovering if he had just let them hit him.

The lasers hit just the right parts of the tall, heavy pipe behind Lance. In a second it was severed in slices and water gushed out at an alarming rate. It didn’t have a chance to sweep Lance far because one of the pieces of pipe _slammed_ onto Lance’s legs and pelvis, pinning him to the floor.

He was swallowed by water.

The first thing that Lance registered was the absolute worst pain yet. But it became numb so quickly. He was going into shock and the water was _freezing_. The water was almost a foot above where he lay and he hadn’t lowered his visor- he was going to drown in there. All alone.

But he wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

Agony rippled through Lance’s body when he tried to raise his back or his head. He managed to get his arm up and cover his mouth and nose- he trusted the grip of his hand better than his mental ability to resist taking in water.

”-ance! Hey! Answer us!” a voice called. 

The comms still worked in his helmet.

“Mmph!” Lance yelled into his hand.

“What? I can’t hear you!” said Pidge. 

“MMPH!” Lance tried again. He couldn’t do much more than lay there and scream.

“Say something, Lance! Words!” said Hunk.

”Mmmmm” Lance moaned. Quiznak- everything was spinning.

”Why can’t he talk?” said Pidge.

”Lance, I don't know what's going on but I can see your location from here. I’m coming over there” said Keith.

Lance was grateful for that but wasn’t sure that they understood the urgency of the situation. His lungs didn’t have patience. _He_ tried to but his body didn’t get the memo. It twisted, trying to break free from it’s restraint towards air but jostling broken bones and wrenching muffled screams out of him.

Nobody knew that he was drowning but they could recognize unbridled sounds of pain clearly.

Lance could have sworn that he heard Keith’s steps speed up.

”Hang in there, bud, Keith’s coming to get you” said Shiro gently. “Just try to take some deep breaths through your nose.”

Lance’s eyes widened. ”MMMMRG!” He would _die-!_

”Wait, maybe he can’t!” said Keith.

Bubbles erupted audibly from between Lance’s fingers.

”What was that?” asked Hunk.

”It’s water- he’s drowning!” yelled Keith.

”In what?!” shrieked Pidge as Hunk chanted “No no no no no!” in the background.   
  
“Shhh” Keith shushed them. “Hey, hey, Lance. Your marker is right in front of me, I’m there in one second. It’s gonna be okay” said Keith calmly.

Lance hummed in relief before opening his mouth and let more bubbles free. His arm was getting tired and he lowered it back to his side.

”Remember when Allura said she trusted you?” Shiro asked Lance. “Well we trust you, too. You’re doing good. Stay awake. We know you can do it.”

Lance wanted to. But it was so cold and numb and their soothing voices were making him closer to relaxed than he’d been in days. Darkness was a blanket being laid over his eyes.

He could hear his mother singing him a lullaby.

  
/

  
  


Coran splinting Lance’s legs, pushing exposed bones back into place before he could placed in a pod to speed healing, was not something Keith ever wanted to see anything like again. But he wanted to stay with Lance through anything after they had made him feel so alone.

How had he not realized how dire things were from the moment that Lance couldn’t even speak to them when every second counted?

”There we are” said Coran after helping an unconscious Lance into the pod and closing it’s door. “Poor boy took quite the beating.”

”He wouldn’t have if we had let him take a day off like he needed” said Keith.

“While I agree wholeheartedly I must say that him lasting as long as he did is a real testament to his strength.”

Keith watched Lance sleep peacefully and heal.

“Yeah. He’s very, very strong.”  
  


/

  
An alarm went off and Coran squinted at the text that appeared on the pod. It was ejecting Lance early because it detected a life-threatening condition that it couldn’t treat.

”Pods can assist with moderate injuries but some nuances need a hands-on approach” explained Coran.

Lance didn’t wake as they laid him on a cot and removed the splints. He did whimper as Coran bandaged his hips to stabilize his still-healing pelvic bones. His breathing was labored because there was fluid building up in his irritated lungs. A pod couldn’t give him extra oxygen like a mask and a tank could.

Every once in a while he would open his eyes, disoriented, and someone would try to calm him until he slipped back into unconsciousness or needed to be sedated to escape his distress.

Two nights later Keith watched over him until he jolted awake.

Lance’s eyes opened wide and he slapped his hands over his face. He was frozen, not even breathing. Holding his breath.

”Lance, easy, it’s okay. You’re safe. Breathe!”

”Mmmmph!” Lance screamed, scrunching his eyes shut. Keith shuddered at the familiar sound.

”There’s no water, buddy, we pulled you out of there. Breathe, like this, with me, okay?”

Keith breathed in slowly, held it for a second, and breathed out. He did over and over again as Lance watched. Lance took a shaking breath with him and lowered his hands.

”That’s it” said Keith. He rested his hand over Lance’s. Lance took Keith’s hand and raised to his lips.

He pulled down his mask and kissed the back of Keith’s hand.

“Gracias mi amor” Lance whispered, still a little dazed.

Keith’s face heated. “No problem. But you should put that back on.”

Lance did, taking another deep breath. “You understood me” he said.

”Of course I did” smiled Keith. “You’re not a complicated person.”

Lance took that as a Keith compliment.

“Keith, could you tell everyone that I’m sorry?”

Keith frowned. “For what?”

”I couldn’t stay awake.”

”...Seriously? You did your best, and that’s all we could ever ask for. That’s the way it’s going to be from now on. Everyone’s been pushing you too hard.”

Lance sighed.

”Dunno. Maybe not. M’lazy, you know” said Lance quietly, starting to fall back into slumber.

Keith brushed Lance’s hair from his face. “You’re _human._ ”

Lance smiled and started snoring softly.

**Author's Note:**

> title comes from beneath the skin by memphis may fire and infectious by imminence


End file.
